PREVIEW: AL West at a glance

Team that should win the division: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. And if there's still any question about it at the trade deadline, the free-spending Halos will go get what they need.

Team that can't: Oakland Athletics. Giambi...Tejada ... Mulder...Hudson ... Zito... Swisher... Haren... Who's left? Coming back from three offseason surgeries is Eric Chavez, who said, “I asked my wife if we had some name tags so I could go to camp with one that said, 'Hi, my name is Eric.' ”

Best player: Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hard to imagine a club where Vladimir Guerrero isn't even your most valuable outfielder.

Best pitcher: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners. The Emerald City wonders what's taking him so long ... and he's still only 21.

Best lineup: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Run and hit and run and hit and run and hit and run, run, run some more.

Best rotation: Seattle Mariners. Erik Bedard, so close to his native Canada, should pay the Mariners for busting him out of Baltimore.

Best bullpen: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Seattle has Putz, but L.A. has what the M's don't, and that's a solid set-up staff for its own dominant closer.

Surprise waiting to happen: Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners. He could be the monster of the Mariners, able to power Seattle past the Angels, but he's been so disappointing that his very approach to the plate was frequently booed in Seattle last year. Time, money and expectations are about up on his four-year, $50 million contract.

Best park to watch a ballgame in: Safeco Field, Seattle. Splendor. Always fun, too, to watch the reaction of visiting outfielders upon hearing a real-live train blowing its horn just a few hundred yards away.

The X factor: John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He's the horse in Orange County, an heir apparent to Johan Santana for the AL Cy Young, but the Angels are holding their breath to see if Lackey can fully shake off elbow trouble.

Did you know? The AL West was baseball's only division last year wherein not even one of its teams finished 2007 with a winning record on the road.

The race: Already the smallest division in baseball, the AL West really has only two teams that are considered contenders, but the Angels and Mariners should be neck-and-neck from start to finish, with a decent chance of both making the playoffs.